Sunday, November 16, 2014

Departure was given at 12:00 UTC today. It is only a rallye but the start
was given in the same manner as in a regatta. 10 minutes, 5 minutes, start.
But that did not prevent two of the big cats to steel the start by almost a
full minute ! and apparently without consequences not even a recall. We had
a goos and fair start with a little bit of delay in setting the gennaker
due to a lack of synchronization between Jean-Paul and myself. But as soon
as we had all sails set, we caught up with the guys` ahead of us. Not for
long as the wind disappeared and almost everybody was forced into motoring,
hopefully not for too long. We need to clear the islands which might take
the best part of two days. We received the water paddle for the windvane in
time to have it installed before departure. We now have 2763 n.m. to cover
to get to Le Marin in Martinique. We need to average 6 knots over the
ground to arrive on the 5th of December around 5:00 p.m. It is doable as
long as we find the tradewinds in their place. The weather today is nice
even if we would prefer a little more wind. For the first time since
Granville, I am wearing shorts. If the windvane and the electric pilot work
well, I shoulbe able to keep updating the blog everyday. You can also
follow the whole fleet by going to "Cornellsailing.com" then go to the
Atlantic Odyssey, then click on "track the boats. Positions are updated
every day at 0:00, 08:00 and 16:00 in UTC time.